Gas stations and corner stores dot the landscape of Orlando’s Parramore neighborhood. Driving around, what’s clearly missing is an actual grocery store. The area is considered a food desert where residents have limited access to healthy, affordable food.
Food drives and emergency distributions have helped, but a new micro grocery store is taking a different approach. Jennifer Hilaire is the founder of The Desire Foundation, the nonprofit behind the Parramore Market.
“Everyone who has ever been to Parramore knows that there are no grocery stores around,” said Hilaire. “How does someone live in an area like here in Orlando and you don’t have a grocery store nearby and you don’t have a car? What do you do? How do you survive?”
Inside the Parramore Market, it looks like a small grocery store. Aisles are organized by items. There’s a cooler room with refrigerators and freezers…